[Ilugc] Re: KERNEL / DISTRO / DESKTOP / APPLICATION interdependency?
- From: lug@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Chandrashekar Babu)
- Date: Wed Sep 1 11:04:38 2004
T.KaruppuSwamy (T & B) writes:
1. What way the application I am installing is related to the kernel?
A well designed application *should* not depend on a specific kernel. Of
course, newer kernel updates provide more features, support more hardware
and fix a couple of bugs (and sometimes introduce new bugs). Most
applications do not tightly depend on a specific kernel version (atleast
most end-user apps dont). Infact, lots of applications that work on Linux,
do work on other other platforms too (like *BSD, Solaris, HP/UX,
<cough>Windows</cough>). So, a kernel update should not impose a
problem.
asking is this, many applications are labelled for distro, not for
kernel version. IN SHORT I WANT TO KNOW THE DEPENDENCY OF KERNEL
VERSION, DISTRO VERSION, DESKTOP (KDE, GNOME..) AND APPLICATION WITH
EACH OTHER?
Thats mostly because of the packaging mechanisms that most distros follow.
As most applications are available as binary packages (RPM, DEB, etc), one
package might have a strong dependency on another package, that too, for a
specific version. Due to this, most binary application packages are labelled
for a distro.
You can always (almost) download the source tarball for your favourite
application and build on your machine without having to worry about
distro-specific requirements (well, mostly). Distros like Gentoo will make
this task easier for you.
2. Since I found that many latest applications run comfortably with
latest kernel, Can I keep my Redhat 8 distro undisturbed with only
kernel update of 2.6.8.1. If I do so what are all the pros and cons on it?
You can safely update the kernel alone to enjoy the benefits of new features
and performance increase (at times). Though, it is wise to have a copy of
the stock kernel (the one that comes with your distro, by default) and
configure your boot loader for a "Safe boot" option to boot from the stock
kernel - this could be of great help if at all something fails/breaks due
to a kernel update.
3. If I want to update my KDE, What I am suppose to do? I found so many
KDE related rpms and src.rpms on www.kde.org. How to go about it and
where to start with it?
If all you want to do is install the binary package (without having to go
through the pain of compiling the sources), download the RPM packages and
install them in the order (as mentioned in the installation docs of KDE).
Cheers,
Chandrashekar Babu.
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